Nancy Schram named as new County Library Director

VENTURA, Calif. – By a unanimous vote on November 14, the Board of Supervisors concurred with the recommendation of County Executive Officer Mike Powers to name Nancy Schram as Director of the Ventura County Library System.

“Nancy was selected after a nationwide search that resulted in more than 85 applicants,” said Powers. “Nancy’s collaborative style of management, her tremendous enthusiasm for the role of libraries in our communities and her professional experience showed Nancy was the right choice for the position. Representatives of our local city library partners also participated in the selection process and noted Nancy’s innovative and collaborative approach in supporting her appointment.”

Schram joined the Ventura County Library System as the Deputy Library Director in 2016. Prior to that, she served as the Deputy Library Director for the City of Thousand Oaks for nine years after having worked for the County of Los Angeles Public Library for 10 years. She has a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and is a member of two professional library associations.

“I’m excited to take a leadership role in County government and to serve our residents with superior library services,” said Schram. “I envision a thriving, sustainable, relevant and collaborative library system that will meet the needs of all our communities far into the future.”

Schram will succeed Jackie Griffin who is retiring in December after 15 years in the Ventura County Library System. Under Griffin’s direction, the library system added the Ventura County Library Foundation, internet connectivity, 3-D printers, laptop computers that can be checked out, innovative reading programs and activities for all ages, and many other accomplishments.

Schram will begin her new duties on December 17, 2017, at an annual salary of $176,766.

Since joining the County, Schram has implemented innovative technology at the soon-to-open Hill Road Library. The technology will empower patrons and provide services on demand, while increasing by up to 70 percent the hours the library is open to the public. She also initiated a Library Staff Training Academy and a program to work with homeless patrons at the E.P. Foster Library.

“The values that make Ventura County unique are visible in the system’s 13 libraries,” added Powers. “Libraries are the places people come to as children and return to as adults, to find adventure, to learn, to discover, in the vast world of ideas mankind has created.”